The very definition of an exciting new band, Melbourne quartet Press Club exploded into existence earlier this year with the release of their frenetic debut single Headwreck. The punk gem is an unrelenting ball of energy from start to finish, full of catchy hooks and frontwoman Natalie Fosters’ striking vocals… the group certainly know how to make first impressions count.
Not ones to do things by halves, the group released an accompanying film clip showcasing an energetic performance of the single. Shot in black and white and in one take, the clip perfectly reflects the band’s strong points; the basic concept and monochrome execution paralleling the immediate nature of the song, presenting the music boldly and bare, allowing the sincerity of the four-piece to shine through and positioning the listener to judge the music purely on its merits.
Luckily for us, Press Club more than stand up to the test.
With a slew of mind-blowing support slots for a band in such infancy as well as upcoming shows at BIGSOUND Festival, the group seem set for a meteoric rise. So before that takes place, we chatted to the band to find out more about them, so you too can brag to your mates that you knew them before it was cool.
press club happy mag

A thundering hurricane of sonic vivacity, Press Club is the name on the lips of every savvy, Brunswick-dwelling punk fan right now.

HAPPY: Who is Press Club and how did the band come together?
PRESS CLUB: We’re a mob of four mates from Brunswick in Melbourne who love playing tunes together.
HAPPY: Is there a driving force behind the band? Or something specific thing you set out to accomplish?
PRESS CLUB: There isn’t any real clear-cut modus for the band. The main drive is us wanting to write music that we’re actually into and relate to.
HAPPY: Where do you draw your influences from?
PRESS CLUB: We’re all into a real mix of music. I think that’s a real cornerstone of the band – not sayin’ “we’re a rock band” and drawing influence from one particular style. It’s kinda anything in between Black Flag and Bobby Womack.
HAPPY: How would you describe the band?
PRESS CLUB: At the moment? New. We’ve only got the one track out there, played one headline gig and played our first show in February. We’ve got a lot of steam in the tank.
HAPPY: At the Headwreck single launch the crowd really seemed to feed off the band’s energy and vice versa, with the crowd dancing around a lot, crowd surfing and singing along. Something like that is quite rare for a a new band, what was that show like and what do you attribute that energy to?
PRESS CLUB: That show was wicked. We weren’t too sure what to expect, honestly. A heap of our mates weren’t able to come along so we were really relying on the people of Melbourne to make a good show of it. They put on the performance, not us. There were people flyin’ all over the shop. It was a great vibe walking around Old Bar and not knowing anyone bar a few mates and my mum.


HAPPY: Is that stage presence something that’s important to the band, or is it more something that comes naturally and you don’t think about?
PRESS CLUB: People are talking about it a lot, so I guess it’s important to the crowd at least. What we do on stage is totally different each show and unrehearsed. If you premeditate that sort of stuff you come across contrived or like an ego-maniac. We just play the music and switch our brains off.
HAPPY: What’s your response to all the positive reactions?
PRESS CLUB: It’s massively gratifying. We put in a ludicrous amount of time and sacrifice. Writing, recording, filming, and just running a band is a big job even for five people. We do everything in house. It’s no easy feat. We all work full time as well, so squeeze that in and your life is a mess. To realise that all that energy we spend isn’t in vain is brilliant.
HAPPY: What does the Melbourne/Australian music community mean to you? How important is that support from your peers?
PRESS CLUB: It’s huge. All our friends are musicians, I grew up going to my mum’s gigs every weekend around Fitzroy in the 90s, I’ve worked in a venue for the last nine years and we’ve all played in dozens of bands over the last decade, it’s pretty much our entire existence.
One flattering thing is the attention and support that Press Club has been getting from other musos and bands around the world. Complements mean heaps coming from anyone, but when they come from somebody who gets what goes into playing, writing and just being in the game it resonates with me a little more. Other musicians are the most knowledgeable and discerning listeners, making a song hit with them is huge.
HAPPY: There’s been some great bands you’ve opened for so far, what’s that been like?
PRESS CLUB: Yeh, we’re extremely fortunate. We’ve been given some great opportunities to play to big crowds and with respected bands so early on. The bigger shows themselves have been real fun.
HAPPY: Tell us about the single Headwreck, what does it mean to you and what fuelled it?
PRESS CLUB: Headwreck is immensely enjoyable to play. It came about really quickly at the end of a day in our songwriting studio (which was my mum’s joint at the time because she was in Italy). We were all real relaxed and uninhibited. We learnt the head, then – truthfully – 60 percent of the song was improvised on the spot with our first play through.
HAPPY: How did the video come together?
PRESS CLUB: We’re friends with a genius named Nick Manuel. He’s an immaculately attractive musical virtuoso, photographer and also makes a pretty good music video, you should meet him. He was helping us out in the studio when we were recording and came up with the concept then and there. We set up in a warehouse in Collingwood, played through the song about six times while Nick ran around like a headless chook with a steadycam. That’s that.
HAPPY: On top of all the exciting supports you’ve gotten, you’re also heading up to play Bigsound in Brisbane, how are you feeling about that? And who else are you going to try and see while you’re there?
PRESS CLUB: Can’t wait. Like I said before we all work full time so heading up to Brisbane is going to be a breather. We’ve got a bunch of mates playing up there. Gonna catch Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird and Horace Bones at a bare minimum.
HAPPY: What’s on the horizon for Press Club, and can we expect any more music in the near future?
PRESS CLUB: More shows. Totally new tunes. I’d say some new music will rear its head very, very soon…
If you’ve managed to catch Press Club’s rapturous live show, you know their set promises more gold to come.
If you’re yet to see the band live, or you simply need to sate your new-found addiction for their infectious sound, you can catch them at the below BIGSOUND shows, or suss their socials for more upcoming dates.
Wed 6th September – The Foundry
Thurs 7th September – The Brightside